Times Higher Education reports that there is a strong correlation between a high IQ and a lack of religious belief, according to Richard Lynn, the controversial psychologist.
In the past Lynn has performed research into what he believes is the existence of race and sex differences in intelligence, and has called for the “phasing out” of what he calls “incompetent cultures”. Controversial indeed!
Of course, correlation does not equal causation, but it’s interesting nonetheless and the article itself contains some interesting comments from noted academics.
via Mind Hacks
2 Comments
Well, it is obvious that there is a differance in the IQ scores- blacks score lower because they are poorer, foreigners score lower because they aren’t familiar with the questions, etc.
However, in this case the link is so obvious it is almost not worth mentioning- it isn’t that atheism gets the smarter people, it is that atheism is positively linked with education- the more education, the more likely you are to be an unbeliever.
So, switching to atheism won’t make you smarter (although it will make you more accurate)- going to college will make you more likely to be an atheist- this isn’t news by the way, church authorities have known this for centuries.
Do blacks really score lower because they are poorer? Or due to actual biological difference? Foreigners because of unfamiliar questioning?
I’m inclined to agree with the likes of Montagu and Graves who say that race is a purely social construct, therefore even applying this kind of correlation is useless. Selection bias might play a large part here, too.
Regarding IQ and atheism: I totally agree with you. It’s inferred due to the correlations between IQ and higher education, and between higher education and atheism. Remembering all the while, of course, that correlation does not equal causation.
Thanks for the comment - much appreciated.